It is often necessary to cut an article into several pieces. For example, the recycling of the material of a large metal object requires that it be cut into pieces of a size acceptable by a foundry.
Devices are known which are designed to make a single cut and which could be used to cut an article into pieces of a given size. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,903,408 (Tagawa); 4,897,921 (Ramun); 4,872,264 (LaBounty); 4,536,976 (Holopainen); 4,519,135 (LaBounty); 4,403,431 (Ramun); and 4,198,747 (LaBounty). Use of these devices to cut an article into a plurality of pieces is difficult because several cuts are required for each piece.
A device which is designed to cut an article into a sheet of a given size in a single operation is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,451 (Bjorkheim). This device includes upper and lower jaws wherein each of the jaws includes parallel longitudinal elements and a transverse element extending between the ends of the longitudinal elements. The longitudinal and transverse elements rotate about a pivotal connection such that the longitudinal elements operate much like scissors while the end elements operate in a shearing fashion. This device requires a complicated frame and several hydraulic elements for adjustment and operation of the device.